Still looking for its first win of the 2012 campaign, the
Eastern Washington University volleyball team will head out on a
busy, and important road trip this week, as it is the final one
before the start of Big Sky Conference play on Sept. 13.

Eastern plays at Boise State on Wednesday (Sept. 5) at 6 p.m.
PST, before continuing on to Ames, Iowa for the Iowa State
Challenge Sept. 7-8. At this two-day Midwest tourney, Eastern will
face No. 18 Iowa State on Friday at 10:30 a.m., followed by a
matchup against Syracuse at 2 p.m. The Eagles will play Iowa in the
final installment on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Still working on its offense without an experienced setter,
Eastern is 0-7 heading into this week. But the Eagles, under new
head coach Lisa Westlake, definitely saw improvement in their most
recent tournament in Spokane.

In the first three matches after Eastern lost both its veteran
setters to injury, the Eagles averaged 9.20 kills per set on a .097
attack percentage, and just 8.00 assists. But in its last three
matches at the Gonzaga Invitational, EWU averaged 11.50 kills per
set on .194 hitting, while fill-in setter Ashley Wright posted
nearly 30 more assists over the same number of sets played. She
averaged 9.20 assists at the GU tourney, while also contributing 10
kills and four blocks.

In addition to the offensive progress, EWU averaged two more
digs per set in last weekend’s matches than it had in the
first couple outings.

Series History

As a former member of the Big Sky Conference, Eastern is quite
familiar with its first opponent on the week - Boise State. After
53 meetings, the Broncos hold a slight edge in the all-time series
at 28-25. But Eastern has won the last six-consecutive meetings,
including a 3-2 thriller last year at Reese Court.

At the Iowa State Challenge, Eastern will face three teams for
just the second time in history, although all three meetings were
in the last decade, and all three were wins for the red and white.
EWU swept Iowa State back in 2002 at the Georgia Tourney in Athens,
Ga. Eastern beat Iowa on the road, 3-1, in 2004 and then topped
Syracuse, 3-0, in 2006 in Wichita, Kan.

Scouting the Opposition

Boise State - Boise State owns a 2-4 record in
the 2012 campaign, with two of those losses coming against fellow
Big Sky member schools Portland State and Sac State. The Broncos
did record a 3-0 win against Gonzaga, which is a team that swept
Eastern just three days ago at GU’s home tourney. The Broncos
are led by sophomore-transfer Alyssa Gammel, who averages 3.95
kills per set with a .250 hitting percentage as an outside hitter.
Right side Liz Harden and middle blocker Brittany Reardon may also
pose a threat, as both are returning starters from 2011, and have
averaged more than two kills per set in BSU’s six matches
thus far in the season. The Broncos did lose to EWU during the 2011
season, but ended up with a winning record on the year at 16-15,
and advanced to the Mountain West Conference tournament.

Iowa State - Ranked 18th in the latest AVCA
Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll, Iowa State will without a doubt be
a tough opponent for the Eags. The Cyclones are 2-3 on the season,
but all three of their losses were against teams ranked in the top
20 nationally. Their two wins came against Cincinnati - a 3-0 sweep
in the season-opener - and No. 19 Illinois, which ISU outlasted,
3-2, on the road. The Cyclones have advanced to the NCAA Tournament
for six-consecutive years, including an Elite 8 berth in 2011. ISU
returns eight letterwinners from that squad, including three
All-Americans in setter Alison Landweher, libero Kristen Hahn and
middle blocker Jamie Straube.

Syracuse - Syracuse comes in with a 3-3 record
on the season, with wins against Illinois-Chicago, Bryant and
Colgate. Its three losses have all been 3-0 sweeps. The Orange are
led by a pair of sophomore outside hitters in Andrea Fisher and
Nicolette Serratore, who have both averaged more than three kills
per set in SU’s first six matches. Syracuse is coached by
Leonid Yelin, who is in his first year with the Orange, but has
over 20 years of head coaching experience. Prior to SU, Yelin led
Louisville to 14 NCAA Tournaments, and four NCAA Regional Semifinal
appearances. He has a career record of 480-148 for a winning
percentage of .764, which ranks as one of the top 10 active coaches
nationally.

Iowa - The Hawkeyes will be the only team
heading into the Iowa State Challenge with a winning record. Iowa
is 5-2 in the 2012 campaign, which includes a 3-1 win against South
Dakota State - a team Eastern narrowly lost to last weekend at the
Gonzaga Invite. Iowa, who competes in the challenging Big 10
Conference, is coming off an 11-22 season (1-19 in conference), but
the 2012 Hawkeyes are an experienced bunch, as they return 10
letterwinners, including four starters from a season ago. Iowa is
led by sophomore outside hitter Alex Lovell and junior right side
Rachael Bedell, both of whom are averaging more than 3.20 kills and
2.00 digs per set.